US$87.1 million loan will benefit Quito Metropolitan District’s 2.6 million residents
Ecuador will improve continuity, operational management and reliability of the drinking water system and boost wastewater treatment capacity, bringing direct benefits to more than 200,000 people and indirect benefits to Quito’s 2.6 million metropolitan district dwellers, with help from a US$87.1 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank.

In its second edition, the call for proposals will be open from March 4th to May 17th, 2019.
The Superheroes of Development Award will recognize executing agencies of IDB-financed projects that have successfully addressed challenges during its implementation. The contest will identify eight finalists from across Latin America and the Caribbean who will travel to IDB’s Headquarters in Washington, D.C. to present their solutions.

The competition seeks the most creative cartoonists and illustrators in Latin America and the Caribbean; entries accepted through March 31, 2019
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announces the launching of its third edition of the Cartoon and Illustration Contest under the theme The Future of Work.

Standard & Poor’s has affirmed the Inter-American Development Bank’s ‘AAA’ long-term and ‘A-1+’ short-term issuer credit rating with a stable outlook. Also, following a review under the revised criteria for multilateral lending institutions, the IDB’s stand-alone credit profile was upgraded from ‘aa+’ to ‘aaa’, due to its extremely strong enterprise risk profile and very strong financial risk profile.

The IDB and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth launch a new Resource Center for Digital Transport
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new Resource Center for Digital Urban Transport in Latin America has been founded, with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

The Inter-American Development Bank announced today that starting March 1 Eric Parrado Herrera will take over as the new chief economist and general manager of the IDB’s Research Department.
A Chilean national, Parrado is Professor of Economics and Finance at the ESE Business School of Universidad de los Andes in Santiago, Chile, and visiting professor at the University of Oxford and the Central European University.

1,166 FINTECH VENTURES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, AN INCREASE OF 66 PERCENT COMPARED TO 2017
The report Fintech en América Latina 2018: crecimiento y consolidación (Fintech in Latin America 2018: Growth and Consolidation), published today by the Inter-American Development Bank and Finnovista, identified 1,166 financial technology startups (Fintech), a rise of 66% since the first study published by the two organizations in 2017.

Exports from Latin America and the Caribbean hit their highest level in six years thanks to a 9.9 percent increase in 2018, albeit amid growing downside risks in the future, according to a new report by the Inter-American Development Bank.
The region exported $1.08 trillion last year. While this is the highest level since record exports in 2012, the rise fell short of the 12.2 percent growth rate for 2017. The region’s performance also lagged a worldwide trade increase of 11.6 percent for the Jan-Sept period (compared to the same period the previous year).

US$ 85.6 million programme will fund geothermal power and institutional capacity projects in five Eastern Caribbean nations
The Sustainable Energy Facility for the Eastern Caribbean (SEF-Expanded) is designed to reduce the financial, technical, and institutional barriers to geothermal energy development in five Eastern Caribbean nations. It will also aid in institutional strengthening and capacity building for those five governments and in partnering with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

The IDB, the Government of Chile and countries of the region will discuss in Santiago, Chile, digital innovations and their application in the value chain in citizen security and justice
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security of Chile will hold the Tenth Citizen Security Week, in Chile from November 26 to 30, 2018. It is the largest regional event dedicated to security and criminal justice issues in Latin America and the Caribbean.